Method of semiconductor device protection, package of semiconductor device

ABSTRACT

A method for protecting a semiconductor device is disclosed that can improve reliability of a performance test for the semiconductor device and prevent damage to the semiconductor device during transportation or packaging for shipment. An IC cover is attached to the semiconductor device, which has height unevenness because it includes semiconductor chips and electric parts having different heights. The IC cover includes projecting portions and a base portion. After being attached to the semiconductor device, the projecting portions stand in a free area in the semiconductor device, and the base portion is supported by the projections to be separated from the semiconductor chips and electric parts in the semiconductor device. The IC cover is detachably attached to the semiconductor device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. Ser. No.12/081,961, filed Apr. 24, 2008, which is a divisional of priorapplication Ser. No. 10/800,630 filed on Mar. 16, 2004 and issued asU.S. Pat. No. 7,382,046, which is based on and claims the benefit ofpriority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-348796, filed Oct. 7,2003, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device unit thatenables easy transportation, test, or packaging and shipment of asemiconductor device, a packaging structure of the semiconductor device,a semiconductor device protection method, and a protection cover of thesemiconductor device.

2. Description of the Related Art

In the recent years and continuing, because portable devices, such asPDAs (personal digital assistant), mobile phones, and digital camerasare becoming light and small, it is also required that semiconductordevices used in these portable devices be light and small.

In response to this requirement, the so-called “chip size package” (CSP)is rapidly spreading, which further reduces package size close to thesize of the packaged semiconductor element (chip).

Typical examples of CSP include FBGA (Fine-pitch Ball Array), FLGA(Fine-pitch Land Grid Array).

In a CSP, a technique known as Package Stacked MCP (Multi Chip Package)may be used to include more semiconductor chips.

In semiconductors which form a CPU (Central Processing Unit), sinceoperating temperature largely increases due to increase of powerconsumption related to high-speed operation, a heat spreader made of ametal having high heat conductance is attached to the top of thesemiconductor device for cooling.

As mentioned above, in order to achieve for small size and light weightof an electronic device in which such a semiconductor device isinstalled, the semiconductor device is required to be light andthin-shaped, and thus frequently a cover or a lid is not provided on aninterposer in the semiconductor device.

In a semiconductor device generating a large amount of heat and havinghigh power consumption, the temperature of the built-in semiconductorchip tend to increase, hence after mounting of the semiconductor chip,it is necessary to directly cool the top surface of the chip. Forexample, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 8-99299 (page 4, 5,and FIG. 2) discloses a technique of directly cooling a semiconductorchip, in which a heat sink made of a metal having high heat conductanceis attached for cooling.

There is a more efficient cooling technique involving directly coolingthe surface of a semiconductor chip with a liquid cooling device. Whenthis technique is used, because it is necessary to directly expose thesurface of the semiconductor chip, a metal lid or a heat spreader is notattached to the top surface of the semiconductor chip, hence the chip, aliquid sealing resin, and electronic parts like capacitors are exposedto the outside.

In the Package Stacked MCP (Multi Chip Package) used for stackedmounting, that is, further stacking a second semiconductor device on afirst semiconductor device, the chip and the liquid sealing resin of thefirst semiconductor device, which is on the lower side, are exposed, andon the top side of the first semiconductor device, there are projectingsolder balls to be joined to the second semiconductor device on theupper side.

In a flip chip mounting in which a semiconductor device is mounted toface downward, in order to decrease height of the mounting of thesemiconductor device, usually sealing with resin is not conducted. Alsoin this case, on the top of the semiconductor device, the chip isexposed.

For a semiconductor device whose semiconductor chip and electric partsare exposed on the top thereof, contact damage to the chip and the partsshould be considered during performance tests, transportation, andpackaging for shipment. Especially, in the performance tests, whenpressing a semiconductor device on a contactor or into a socket, onlythe chip itself is directly pressed, and this may cause cracks ordefects in the chip.

Further, when pressing a number of semiconductor chips at the same time,the load applied on the semiconductor chips may be non-uniform becauseof unevenness of the surface of the semiconductor device caused byheight differences and deviation of mounting positions of thesemiconductor chips. This is the so-called unbalanced load problem.

When unbalanced load occurs in performance tests, external connectionterminals of the semiconductor device are not in good connectioncondition with terminals of the testing device, and this greatly lowersreliability of the test.

When unbalanced load occurs in packaging and shipment, semiconductordevices may be damaged during transportation due to application ofexternal forces.

When a semiconductor chip is sealed by means of bonding, which uses aliquid sealing resin, but not by means of resin sealing using resinmolding, because the top surface of the semiconductor device is unevenand has a low flatness, it is very difficult to press the top surface ofthe semiconductor device uniformly in performance tests. Thus,unbalanced load occurs also in this case, greatly lowering reliabilityof the performance tests and in transportation after shipment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to solve one ormore of the problems of the related art.

It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide amethod of protecting a semiconductor device that can improve reliabilityof a performance test and can effectively prevent damage to thesemiconductor device during packaging for shipment, a protection coverof the semiconductor device, a semiconductor device unit, and asemiconductor device packaging structure.

According to the present invention, because the semiconductor device isprotected by a protection member, when a performance test is conductedfor the semiconductor device, it is possible to improve reliability ofthe performance test. In addition, during packaging and shipment of thesemiconductor device, the protection member can effectively preventdamage to the semiconductor device. Furthermore, because the protectionmember is detachably attached to the semiconductor device, theprotection member can be removed when necessary.

According to the present invention, a number of treatments are performedfor the semiconductor device with a protection member being attached tothe semiconductor device. Therefore, it is possible to prevent damage tothe semiconductor device during the treatments or in transportation fornext treatments.

According to the present invention, regardless of unevenness of asurface of the semiconductor device, it is possible to uniformly pressthe semiconductor device, and this improves the reliability of the test.

According to the present invention, because the semiconductor deviceprotection cover is harder than the semiconductor device, thesemiconductor device protection cover can effectively protect thesemiconductor device.

According to the present invention, because the semiconductor deviceprotection cover has hardness lower than that of the semiconductordevice, the semiconductor device protection cover can hardly causedamage to the semiconductor device at the contacting position of theprojecting portion and the semiconductor device.

According to the present invention, even when a large external force isapplied to the semiconductor device, this force can be absorbed when theprotection cover is elastically deformed, and thus effectivelyprotecting the semiconductor device.

According to the present invention, because the projecting portion andthe base portion of the semiconductor device protection cover possessconductivity, even when static electricity is generated between thesemiconductor device and the protection cover when mounting theprotection cover to the semiconductor device, the static electricitydoes not cause damage (the so-called “static electricity damage”) to thesemiconductor device.

According to the present invention, because the semiconductor deviceprotection cover is engaged by an engaging portion with thesemiconductor device with the protection cover being attached to thesemiconductor device, it is possible to prevent disengagement of theprotection cover from the semiconductor device.

According to the present invention, because the base portion of theprotection cover has a predetermined shape irrespective of the outershape of the semiconductor device, even though the semiconductor devicemay have various kinds of outer shapes or size, when the protectioncover is attached to the semiconductor device, the overall outer shapeand size turn into the predetermined one, therefore, when transportingor in a performance test of the semiconductor device having variouskinds of shapes and size, it is not necessary to change the design ofthe protection cover, that is, various devices are standardized by theprotection cover.

According to the present invention, because the surface of thesemiconductor device is protected by a protection cover, parts on thesurface of the semiconductor device can be protected.

According to the present invention, the semiconductor device and thesemiconductor device protection cover are set in position when the firstpositioning member on the semiconductor device and the secondpositioning member the semiconductor device protection cover are engagedwith each other, so that the semiconductor device and the semiconductordevice protection cover can be easily and correctly set in position.

According to the present invention, the first positioning member and thesecond positioning member can be easily formed.

According to the present invention, because the projection and therecess are engaged with each other while being guided by an inclinedsurface, the engagement becomes very easy.

According to the present invention, because the peripheral part of thesemiconductor device is used as the first positioning member, it is notnecessary to separately prepare positioning members on the semiconductordevice, and this makes the structure of the positioning mechanismsimple.

According to the present invention, because the wall and the peripheralpart are engaged with each other while being guided by the inclinedsurface, the engagement becomes very easy.

According to the present invention, by making recognition marks actingas the first positioning member and the second positioning member inconsistent, the semiconductor device and the semiconductor deviceprotection cover can be set in position.

According to the present invention, when packaging a semiconductordevice in a tray having a first semi-tray and a second semi-tray,because the semiconductor device is protected by a protection coverbetween the first semi-tray and a surface of the semiconductor device,it is possible to prevent damage to the semiconductor device duringtransportation after the packaging process.

According to the present invention, when packaging a semiconductordevice on an embossed tape, because the semiconductor device isprotected by a protection cover on the surface of the semiconductordevice, it is possible to prevent damage to the semiconductor deviceduring transportation after the packaging process.

These and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of the preferred embodiments given with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a series of treatments,including fabrication of a semiconductor device and various processingconducted for the semiconductor device;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are perspective views of an IC cover 10A, asemiconductor device 11A and semiconductor device unit 12A according toa first embodiment and showing the covering step S2 in FIG. 1, in whichthe IC cover 10A is attached to the semiconductor device 11A;

FIGS. 2C through 2E are perspective views showing a suction head 40 andshowing the transportation step according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view for explaining the test step according tothe first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view for explaining the test step continuing fromFIG. 3;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are perspective views for explaining the test stepcontinuing from FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view for explaining the test step continuing fromFIG. 5B;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a tray 55 used for packaging thesemiconductor devices 11A according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view for schematically showing package ofthe semiconductor devices 11A using a strip-shaped packaging materialaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9A is a perspective view showing the IC cover 10A according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view of the IC cover 10A along a line XX inFIG. 9A;

FIG. 10A is a perspective view showing the semiconductor device unit 12Ausing the IC cover 10A according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 10B is a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor device unit 12Aalong a line XX in FIG. 10A;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an IC cover 10B and a semiconductordevice 11B according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an IC cover 10C and a semiconductordevice 11C according to a third embodiment;

FIG. 13A is a perspective view of the IC cover 10A and the semiconductordevice 11A as shown in the first embodiment;

FIG. 13B is a cross-sectional view of the IC cover 10A and thesemiconductor device 11A along the line XX in FIG. 13A;

FIG. 13C is a perspective view of an IC cover 10D and a semiconductordevice 11D according to a fourth embodiment;

FIG. 13D is a cross-sectional view of the IC cover 10D and thesemiconductor device 11D along the line XX in FIG. 13C;

FIG. 14A is a perspective view of an IC cover 10G according to a fifthembodiment;

FIG. 14B is a cross-sectional view of the IC cover 10G along the line XXin FIG. 14A;

FIG. 15A is a perspective view of a semiconductor device unit 12Baccording to the fifth embodiment;

FIG. 15B is a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor device unit 12Balong the line XX in FIG. 15A;

FIG. 16A is a perspective view of an IC cover 10H according to a sixthembodiment;

FIG. 16B is a cross-sectional view of the IC cover 10H along the line XXin FIG. 16A;

FIG. 17A is a perspective view of a semiconductor device unit 12Caccording to the sixth embodiment;

FIG. 17B is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor device unit 12Calong the line XX in FIG. 17A;

FIG. 18A is a perspective view of an IC cover 10E and a semiconductordevice 11E, as a first example according to a seventh embodiment. The ICcover 10E and the semiconductor device 11E form a semiconductor deviceunit 12D;

FIG. 18B is a perspective view of an IC cover 10F and a semiconductordevice 11F, as a second example according to the seventh embodiment. TheIC cover 10F and the semiconductor device 11F form a semiconductordevice unit 12E;

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of an IC cover 10I and a semiconductordevice 11G, as a third example according to the seventh embodiment. TheIC cover 10I and the semiconductor device 11G form a semiconductordevice unit 12F;

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of an IC cover 10I and a semiconductordevice 11G, as a fourth example according to the seventh embodiment. TheIC cover 10I and the semiconductor device 11G form a semiconductordevice unit 12G;

FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view of an IC cover 10J and thesemiconductor device 11A, as a fifth example according to the seventhembodiment. The IC cover 10J and the semiconductor device 11A form asemiconductor device unit 12H;

FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view of the IC cover 10J and thesemiconductor device 11A, as a sixth example according to the seventhembodiment. The IC cover 10J and the semiconductor device 11A form asemiconductor device unit 12I;

FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view of an IC cover 10K and thesemiconductor device 11A, as a seventh example according to the seventhembodiment. The IC cover 10K and the semiconductor device 11A form asemiconductor device unit 12J;

FIG. 24A is a cross-sectional view of an IC cover 10L, which is anelastic body, and the semiconductor device 11A according to an eighthembodiment;

FIG. 24B is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor device unit 12Kaccording to the eighth embodiment, including the IC cover 10L and thesemiconductor device 11A;

FIG. 25A is a cross-sectional view of an IC cover 10M formed from athermoplastic resin and the semiconductor device 11A according to theeighth embodiment;

FIG. 25B is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor device unit 12Lincluding the IC cover 10M and the semiconductor device 11A; and

FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view of an IC cover 10N and thesemiconductor device 11A according to the eighth embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Below, preferred embodiments of the present invention are explained withreference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a series of common treatmentsperformed for a semiconductor device including fabrication and variousprocessing.

In the present invention, a semiconductor device 11A fabricated in anassembly step, indicated as S1, is processed in various steps untilbeing shipped; these steps include a covering step (S2), atransportation step (S3), a test step (S4), a transportation step (S5),a packaging step (S6), and a shipment step (S7).

The semiconductor device 11A is a so-called MCM (Multi Chip Module)semiconductor device, in which one or more semiconductor chips 14 aremounted on an interposer (a circuit board) together with capacitanceelements having a required capacity.

In order to obtain small size and light weight of an electronic devicein which the semiconductor device 11A is installed, the semiconductordevice 11A is required to be light and thin-shaped, thus frequently acover or a lid is not provided on the interposer in the semiconductordevice.

For this reason, a semiconductor chip 14 or other electric parts areexposed, and in the aforesaid transportation steps S3 and S5, test stepS4, packaging step S6, and shipment step S7, it is necessary to preventany damage to the exposed semiconductor chip 14.

In the present invention, in the covering step S2 after the assemblystep S1, an IC cover 10A (corresponding to the semiconductor deviceprotection cover in claims of the present invention) is mounted. Then,in the subsequent steps, the semiconductor device 11A is protected bythe IC cover 10A. As a result, in the test step S4, in which theperformance of the semiconductor device 11A is tested, because of the ICcover 10A, damage to the semiconductor device 11A is prevented, further,the semiconductor device 11A can be reliably connected to a testingapparatus, and this improves the reliability of the performance test.

Also in the transportation steps S3 and S5, packaging step S6 andshipment step S7, the semiconductor device 11A is protected by the ICcover 10A, preventing damage to the semiconductor device 11A.

The IC cover 10A is detachably mounted to the semiconductor device 11A,and the IC cover 10A can be easily removed when necessary.

Below, preferred embodiments of the present invention are explained.

First Embodiment

As described above, in the fabrication and processing steps as shown inFIG. 1, after the semiconductor device 11A is fabricated in step S1, inthe subsequent step S2, the IC cover 10A is mounted on the semiconductordevice 11A. In the subsequent transportation steps S3 and S5, test stepS4, packaging step S6, and shipment step S7, the semiconductor device11A is processed with the IC cover 10A mounted on the semiconductordevice 11A.

In the present embodiment, the covering step S2 is performed beforesteps S3 through S7 are executed, but the timing of mounting the ICcover 10A on the semiconductor device 11A is not limited to this. The ICcover 10A can be mounted on the semiconductor device 11A at any stage(for example, between step S3 and step S4) when necessary. However, itis preferable to mount the IC cover 10A on the semiconductor device 11Aright after fabrication and before the various treatments from steps S3to S7, because this can prevent damage to the semiconductor device 11A.

Operations in each of the above steps are described with reference tothe accompanying figures.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic views showing the covering step S2 in FIG.1, in which the IC cover 10A is mounted on the semiconductor device 11A.

FIGS. 2C through 2E are schematic views showing the transportation stepS3 or S5 in FIG. 1, in which the semiconductor device 11A is transportedto an apparatus for testing or to an apparatus for packaging andshipment.

In the covering step S2, as shown in FIG. 2A, the IC cover 10A and thesemiconductor device 11A are prepared, and as shown in FIG. 2B, the ICcover 10A is mounted on the semiconductor device 11A, thus, forming asemiconductor device unit 12A. As shown below, in the presentembodiment, because both the semiconductor device 11A and the IC cover10A are clamped by vacuum (low pressure) suction for transportation, asuction hole 38 is formed in the IC cover 10A.

FIG. 2C shows a suction head 40 for transporting the semiconductordevice unit 12A. The suction head 40 is installed to a robot arm(not-illustrated) movable in three dimensions. The suction head 40 has asuction nozzle 41 (shown in FIG. 2E), which is connected to anot-illustrated pump.

During the transportation step S3 or S5, as shown in FIG. 2C, thesuction head 40 is moved to a position right above the semiconductordevice unit 12A. Next, as shown in FIG. 2D, the suction head 40 is movedto be in contact to the IC cover 10A of the semiconductor device unit12A. Under this condition, the not-illustrated pump is started tooperate, and the semiconductor device unit 12A is suctioned through thesuction nozzle 41 and the suction hole 38 on the IC cover 10A. Thus, thesemiconductor device unit 12A can be transported while being attached tothe suction head 40 by suction. Since the suction head 40 is in contactwith the top of the semiconductor device unit 12A, a contact force, anexternal force, is imposed on the semiconductor device unit 12A.However, because the semiconductor device 11A is protected by the ICcover 10A, the semiconductor chip 14 does not receive the external forcedirectly. Hence, during the transportation step S3 or S5, thesemiconductor device 11A is effectively protected.

Next, the test step S4 is explained.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view for explaining the test step S4 shown in FIG.1.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view for explaining the test step S4 continuingfrom FIG. 3.

In the test step S4, a performance test or a burn-in test is conductedfor the semiconductor device 11A. The tests for the semiconductor device11A are conducted using a contactor 45A illustrated in FIG. 3 and FIG.4.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, there is a mounting portion 47 on the topof the contactor 45A for mounting the semiconductor device 11A. Themounting portion 47 has a number of probe pins 48 arranged incorrespondence to solder balls 15, which are arranged on a surface ofthe interposer 13 of the semiconductor device 11A, forming externalconnection terminals of the semiconductor device 11A. These probe pins48 are electrically connected to a tester. Thus, being mounted on thecontactor 45, the semiconductor device 11A is connected to a tester toexecute a performance test and other various tests.

In the test step S4, first, the suction head 40 conveys thesemiconductor device unit 12A to a position above the contactor 45A.Next, the suction head 40 is moved downward to mount the semiconductordevice unit 12A, or, specifically, the semiconductor device 11A, in themounting portion 47 of the contactor 45A.

At this stage, the semiconductor device 11A is just located in themounting portion 47, but the probe pins 48 and the solder balls 15 arenot reliably electrically connected to each other. For this reason, itis necessary to press the semiconductor device 11A against the mountingportion 47.

The contactor 45A shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 does not have a lid. Inthis case, the pressing treatment may be conducted by further moving thesuction head 40 downward into the contactor 45A, or by pushing thesemiconductor device unit 12A toward the contactor 45A by anot-illustrated pressing device.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are schematic view for explaining the test step S4continuing from FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view for explaining the test step S4 continuingfrom FIG. 5B.

In FIG. 6, the contactor 45B has a lid 51. In this case, the pressingtreatment may be conducted by just closing the lid 51. That is, in thepresent invention, in the pressing treatment, the pressing force is notimposed on the semiconductor device 11A directly, but with the IC cover10A in between.

Due to this, although the surface of the semiconductor device 11A isuneven due to existence of the semiconductor chips 14, because the topsurface of the IC cover mounted on the semiconductor device 11A is flat,the semiconductor device 11A can be uniformly pushed toward thecontactor 45A or 45B despite the uneven surface thereof. Hence, theunbalanced load problem in the related art does not occur, that is, loadapplied on the semiconductor chip 11A is not uniform despite unevennessof the surface of the semiconductor device 11A caused by heightdifferences and deviation of mounting positions of the semiconductorchips 14.

As a result, the solder balls 15, which form external connectionterminals of the semiconductor device 11A, are in good electricalconnection with the corresponding probe pins 48 of the test apparatus,and this enables a reliable performance test. The same effect can beobtained even when the semiconductor chips 14 are sealed by a liquidsealing resin, that is, by means of bonding.

In the above, it is described that the IC cover 10A is attached to thesemiconductor device 11A in advance, and the assembled semiconductordevice unit 12A is the object of the performance test in the test stepS4. However, the semiconductor device 11A may be mounted in thecontactor 45A beforehand as shown in FIG. 5A, and then the IC cover 10Jbe attached to the semiconductor device 11A as shown in FIG. 5B, andunder this condition, the set of the IC cover 10J and the semiconductordevice 11A are pressed. In this case, in order to precisely position theIC cover 10J on the semiconductor device 11A, it is preferable that aguide 50 be provided.

Next, an example of the packaging step S6 and the shipment step S7 isexplained in which multiple semiconductor devices 11A are packaged intoa tray 55.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a tray 55 used for packaging thesemiconductor devices 11A.

To package the semiconductor devices 11A, the semiconductor devices 11Aare accommodated between an upper semi-tray 56 and a lower semi-tray 57.Specifically, in the upper semi-tray 56 and the lower semi-tray 57,recesses 58 are formed in a matrix manner, and one of the semiconductordevices 11A is accommodated in the room formed by each recess 58.

The upper semi-tray 56 and the lower semi-tray 57 have the samestructure, but for clarity of explanation, the semi-tray at a higherposition in FIG. 7 is referred to as “upper semi-tray 56”, the semi-trayat a lower position in FIG. 7 is referred to as “lower semi-tray 57”,and the combination of the upper semi-tray 56 and the lower semi-tray 57is referred to as “tray 55” used for packaging the semiconductor devices11A.

As mentioned above, the semiconductor devices 11A are accommodatedbetween an upper semi-tray 56 and a lower semi-tray 57, thereby, thesemiconductor devices 11A are packaged. In the present invention, asemiconductor device 11A is packaged and shipped with an IC cover 10Abeing attached to the semiconductor device 11A, or in FIG. 7, the ICcover 10A is arranged between the upper semi-tray 56 and the top surfaceof the semiconductor device 11A, and further the height of the room foraccommodating the semiconductor device unit 12A between the uppersemi-tray 56 and the lower semi-tray 57 is adjusted to fit the height ofthe semiconductor device unit 12A, that is, the height of thesemiconductor device 11A increased by the height of the IC cover 10A.Due to this, each semiconductor device 11A is firmly packaged in arecess 58 and does not move at all.

Even when the aforesaid unbalanced load problem takes place duringpackaging and shipment, that is, even when the tray 55 is shaken duringtransportation after the shipment step S7, the vibration is received bythe IC cover 10A, therefore, the there is no damage to the semiconductordevice 11A.

Next, another example of the packaging step S6 and the shipment step S7is explained in which the semiconductor devices 11A is packaged using astrip-shaped packaging material.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view for schematically showing packaging ofthe semiconductor devices 11A using the strip-shaped packaging material.

As shown in FIG. 8, semiconductor devices 11A are accommodated inrespective recesses 62 (emboss) formed on an embossed tape 60. Eachrecess 62 forms a room for accommodating one semiconductor device 11A. Arecess 62, in which a semiconductor device 11A is accommodated, iscovered by a cover tape 63, thereby packaging the semiconductor device11A. The embossed tape 60 is a strip-shaped tape wound on a reel 61, anda number of recesses 62 are formed consecutively in the longitudinaldirection of the embossed tape 60. The packaged semiconductor devices11A are shipped with the embossed tape 60 wound on the reel 61.

In the present invention, when packaging the semiconductor devices 11Awith the strip-shaped packaging material, an IC cover 10A is placed oneach semiconductor device 11A. Due to this, even when the embossed tape60 is wound on the reel 61 and thereby pressure is applied on thesemiconductor devices 11A, the pressure is received by the IC cover, butnot directly applied on the semiconductor devices 11A.

Even when the unbalanced load problem takes place during packaging andshipment, that is, even when the embossed tape is shaken duringtransportation after the shipment step S7, the vibration is received bythe IC covers 10A, therefore, the there is no damage to thesemiconductor devices 11A.

FIG. 9A is a perspective view showing the IC cover 10A mentioned above.FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view of the IC cover 10A along a line XX inFIG. 9A.

FIG. 10A is a perspective view showing the semiconductor device unit 12Ausing the IC cover 10A. FIG. 10B is a cross-sectional view of thesemiconductor device unit 12A along the line XX in FIG. 10A.

As described above, the semiconductor device 11A of the presentinvention with the IC cover 10A being attached is a Multi-Chip Moduletype semiconductor device, and in general, is formed by the interposer13, one or more semiconductor chips 14, and the solder balls 15.

In the semiconductor device 11A of the present invention, the interposer13 is a circuit board obtained by stacking one interconnection layer, ormore interconnection layers when necessary, onto the surface of aninsulating substrate formed from, for example, polyamide. On one surface13A of the interposer 13, one or more semiconductor chips 14 (there arefour chips 14 in the present embodiment) are arranged together with chipcondensers, chip resistors, or other electric parts (not illustrated).

The semiconductor chips 14 are bare chips, and are mounted and bonded onthe interposer 13 by means of “flip chip mounting (face down)”. Whenthere are a number of the semiconductor chips 14 mounted, usually thesemiconductor chips 14 are of different types, for example, a memorychip, or a logic chip, and so on. For this reason, differentsemiconductor devices 11A, usually including different chips, havedifferent heights from the surface 13A of the interposer 13.

On the other hand, on the surface 13A of the interposer 13, there arefree areas 16 where no semiconductor chip 14 or any other electric partis mounted. These free areas 16 can be touched by other objects.Specifically, a projection 21 (described below) of the IC cover 10A maybe in contact with the free areas 16 without any adverse influence.

It should be noted that in fact not all areas where no semiconductorchip 14 or no electric part is mounted belong to the free areas 16. Forexample, in areas where interconnections are formed at a high density,contacting of the projection 21 with the areas is not desirable. In thepresent embodiment, just for illustration, all areas where nosemiconductor chip 14 or no electric part is mounted belong to the freeareas 16.

Further, on the rear surface of the interposer 13, a number of thesolder balls 15 are formed. The solder balls 15 function as externalconnection terminals of the semiconductor device 11A, and areelectrically connected to the semiconductor chips 14 throughinterconnection layers in the interposer 13. Such a semiconductor device11A is assembled by well known semiconductor fabrication techniques, andthis corresponds to the assembly step S1 in FIG. 1.

The IC cover 10A of the present invention is attached to the assembledsemiconductor device 11A. Next, the structure of the IC cover 10A isdescribed in detail.

For example, the IC cover 10A is formed from resins, such as PES (PolyEther Sulphone), or PEI (Poly Ether Imide), with glass materials added.As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the IC cover 10A includes a base portion20A and a projection 21 integral with the base portion 20A.

The base portion 20A is plate-shaped; the shape and size of the plateare set to be roughly the same as those of the surface 13A of theinterposer 13 of the semiconductor device 11A. In addition, the topsurface of the IC cover 10A (referred to as cover surface 23) is a flatplane without any unevenness.

One the other principal surfaces of the base portion 20A, depressedportions are formed to fit size, shapes, numbers and positions of thesemiconductor chips 14 and other electric parts mounted in thesemiconductor device 11A. These depressed portions correspond to therecesses 22A for accommodating the semiconductor chips 14 and otherelectric parts. The portions of the base 20A around the recesses formsthe projections 21, and after the IC cover 10A is attached to thesemiconductor device 11A, the projections 21 act as a connector incontact with the surface 13A of the interposer 13 of the semiconductordevice 11A.

In the IC cover 10A, the depths of the recesses 22A are set greater thanthe thickness of the semiconductor chips 14 to be accommodated, in otherwords, greater than the height of the accommodated semiconductor chips14. Therefore, there is an interval between the top of a recess 22A andthe top of an accommodated semiconductor chip 14. This interval preventsthe base portion 20A from contacting the accommodated semiconductor chip14 during transportation or a test of the semiconductor device 11A.

Similarly, when chip condensers, chip resistors, or other electric partsare mounted on the surface 13A of the interposer 13, on surfaces of theIC cover 10A, recesses are formed to accommodate the chip condensers,chip resistors, or other electric parts, the depths of the recesses areset greater than the height of the accommodated chip condensers, chipresistors, or other electric parts. For even smaller electric parts, anumber of them may be accommodated in a common recess.

As shown in FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B, when the projection 21 on the IC cover10A is positioned to face one of the free areas 16 on the interposer 13of the semiconductor device 11A, as shown in FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B, theIC cover 10A is attached to the semiconductor device 11A. Under thiscondition, the projection 21 of the IC cover 10A is in contact with thefree areas 16 on the interposer 13 of the semiconductor device 11A,thereby the IC cover 10A is set in position on the semiconductor device11A.

As shown in FIG. 10B, the inner surface of the recess 22A is separatedfrom the accommodated semiconductor chip 14. With the separation, directapplication of an external force to the semiconductor chip 14 isprevented even when the external force is imposed on the IC cover 10A.The semiconductor device 11A and the IC cover 10A attached to thesemiconductor device 11A form the semiconductor device unit 12A.

In addition, in the semiconductor device unit 12A, because the IC cover10A is just placed on the semiconductor device 11A, the IC cover 10A canbe easily detached.

As mentioned above, when the IC cover 10A is attached to thesemiconductor device 11A, the base portion 20A of the IC cover 10Acovers the semiconductor device 11A. Thus, when an external force isimposed on the semiconductor device unit 12A, the external force isabsorbed and weakened by the IC cover 10A. This prevents directapplication of the external force to the semiconductor chip 14, whichhas a lower mechanical strength than that of the interposer 13, andthereby prevents the semiconductor device 11A.

As mentioned above, the projection 21 of the IC cover 10A is in contactwith a selected free area 16 of the interposer 13; this selected freearea 16 has a lower density of the semiconductor chips 14, electricparts and interconnections. Thus, even when the projection is in contactwith the interposer 13, this does not cause any damage to the interposer13 or in turn, to the semiconductor device 11A.

As mentioned above, the IC cover 10A is detachably attached to thesemiconductor device 11A, thus, the IC cover 10A can be removed easilyfrom the semiconductor device 11A when necessary, for example, theprotection for the semiconductor device 11A is not necessary whenmounting the semiconductor device 11A.

In addition, although not illustrated in FIGS. 9A and 9B and FIGS. 10Aand 10B, the suction hole 38 as shown in FIG. 2, through which thesuction head 40 takes suction on the IC cover 10A and the semiconductordevice 11A together during the transportation step S3 or S5 in FIG. 1,may be appropriately formed near the center of the IC cover 10A.

In addition, in the present embodiment, for example, the IC cover 10Aand the interposer 13 are both formed from resins having similarhardness. However, the IC cover 10A may be formed from materials havinggreater hardness than that of the surface 13A of the interposer 13 ofthe semiconductor device 11A.

For example, the IC cover 10A may be formed from engineering plasticmaterials having high hardness, such as, metals, ceramics, or PBI (PolyBenz Imidazole). Because the IC cover 10A is hard, the IC cover 10A hasa high resistance against external forces, and the semiconductor device11A and the semiconductor chips 14 therein can be reliably protected.

On the other hand, the IC cover 10A may also be formed from materialshaving lower hardness than the surface 13A of the interposer 13 of thesemiconductor device 11A. Because the IC cover 10A is soft, the IC cover10A can hardly cause damage to the surface 13A of the interposer 13 ofthe semiconductor device 11A.

In the above, it is described that as the semiconductor chips 14, barechips are mounted on the interposer 13 in the semiconductor device 11A;certainly, the present invention is applicable even when mountingsemiconductor chips sealed by resins.

For semiconductor chips sealed by resins, when different kinds of chipsare mounted on the interposer, unevenness of chips' heights occurs onthe interposer, and due to this, uniform connection with the probe pinscannot be obtained in the test step.

According to the present invention, using an IC cover formed withrecesses for accommodating the resin-sealed semiconductor chips, theabove problem can be solved. When both the bare chips and theresin-sealed chips are present, in the same way, unevenness of chips'heights occurs on the interposer. This problem can also be solved byapplying an IC cover according to the present invention.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, after the IC cover 10A is attached tothe semiconductor device 11A in the step S2, the transportation steps S3and S5, the test step S4, the packaging step S6, and the shipment stepS7 are executed.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an IC cover 10B and a semiconductordevice 11B according to a second embodiment. In FIG. 11, the samereference numbers are used for the same elements as those shown in thepreceding embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 11, the IC cover 10B is attached to the semiconductordevice 11B.

In the semiconductor device 11B, a semiconductor chip 14 and a number ofelectric parts 18 (for example, chip condensers) are mounted on asurface 13A of an interposer 13. The semiconductor chip 14 is connectedto the interposer 13 by means of flip chip mounting (face down); anunder-fill material 17 is provided between the semiconductor chip 14 andthe interposer 13 to improve the connection reliability. The under-fillmaterial 17 extends until the peripheral area of the semiconductor chip14. The electric parts 18 are arranged in proximity of the semiconductorchip 14, to surround the semiconductor chip 14.

The semiconductor chip 14 and the electric parts 18 have differentheights relative to the surface 13A. Due to this, even in the secondembodiment, the surface 13A of the semiconductor device 11B hasunevenness.

The IC cover 10B, the same as the preceding embodiment, includes aprojection 21 and a recess 22B. In the recess 22B, all of thesemiconductor chip 14 and the electric parts 18 are accommodated. Inother words, the shape of the recess 22B need not be made incorrespondence to the shape of the semiconductor chip 14 and shapes ofthe electric parts 18; the shape of the recess 22B can be determinedappropriately according to the lay-out of the semiconductor chip 14 andthe electric parts 18. However, the position of the recess 22B shouldensure that the base portion 20A of the IC cover 10B can be wellsupported by the projection 21.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 11, a suction hole 38 as shown in FIG.2, through which a suction head 40 takes suction on the IC cover 10B andthe semiconductor device 11B together during the transportation step S3or S5 in FIG. 1, may be appropriately formed near the center of the ICcover 10B.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an IC cover 10C and a semiconductordevice 11C according to a third embodiment. In FIG. 12, the samereference numbers are used for the same elements as those shown in thepreceding embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 12, the IC cover 10C is attached to the semiconductordevice 11C.

In the semiconductor device 11C, a semiconductor chip 14 and solderballs 19 for stacking are arranged on a surface 13A of an interposer 13.

The semiconductor device 11C is obtained by stacking othernot-illustrated semiconductor devices when mounting the semiconductordevice 11C. Therefore, in addition to the solder balls 15 on the lowersurface of the interposer 13, the solder balls 19 are also prepared onthe upper surface for use in stacking.

For this reason, on the IC cover 11C attached to the semiconductordevice 11C, in addition to a recess 22 in correspondence to the positionof the semiconductor chip 14, bump recesses 24 are also formed atpositions in correspondence to positions of the solder balls 19. Asshown in FIG. 12, the bump recesses 24 correspond to the solder balls19, respectively, and are formed along a line so as to accommodate thesolder balls, which are arranged in a line, too, at the same time.

With such an IC cover 10C, when it is attached to the semiconductordevice 11C, the solder balls 19 are accommodated in the bump recesses24, respectively, therefore, even if an external force is applied on theIC cover 10C, the solder balls 19 do not receive the force and do notdeform, and this protects the semiconductor device 11C.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 12, a suction hole 38 as shown in FIG.2, through which a suction head 40 takes suction on the IC cover 10C andthe semiconductor device 11C together during the transportation step S3or S5 in FIG. 1, may be appropriately formed near the center of the ICcover 10C.

Fourth Embodiment

FIG. 13A is a perspective view of the IC cover 10A and the semiconductordevice 11A as shown in the first embodiment.

FIG. 13B is a cross-sectional view of the IC cover 10A and thesemiconductor device 11A along the line XX in FIG. 13A.

That is, the IC cover 10A has roughly the same size of the interposer 13of the semiconductor device 11A, and the shape of the IC cover 10A is incorrespondence to the outer shape of the semiconductor device 11A.

FIG. 13C is a perspective view of an IC cover 10D and a semiconductordevice 11D according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 13D is a cross-sectional view of the IC cover 10D and thesemiconductor device 11D along the line XX in FIG. 13C.

In this embodiment, despite the difference between the outer shapes ofthe semiconductor device 11A and the semiconductor device 11D, the outershape and size of the base portion 20A of the IC cover 10A are the sameas those of the base portion 20G of the IC cover 10A. It should be notedthat although only two kinds of semiconductor devices 11A and 11D arepresented as an example, the present invention is applicable to morekinds of semiconductor devices, that is, an IC cover that has a unifiedouter shape and size can be used for many kinds of semiconductor deviceshaving different shapes and sizes.

According to the present embodiment, even when the outer shapes ofsemiconductor devices are different, by using an IC cover having aunified outer shape and size, semiconductor device units having the sameouter shape and size can be obtained. Due to this, when transportingsemiconductor devices by holding a protection cover, it is possible totransport various kinds of semiconductor devices by the same conveyingarm despite the different shapes and sizes of the semiconductor devices.As a result, it is possible to unify apparatuses for semiconductordevice processing, and reduce device cost.

Although not illustrated in FIGS. 13C and 13D, a suction hole 38 asshown in FIG. 2, through which a suction head 40 takes suction on the ICcover 10D and the semiconductor device 11D together during thetransportation step S3 or S5 in FIG. 1, may be appropriately formed nearthe center of the IC cover 10D.

Fifth Embodiment

FIG. 14A is a perspective view of an IC cover 10G according to a fifthembodiment.

FIG. 14B is a cross-sectional view of the IC cover 10G along the line XXin FIG. 14A.

FIG. 15A is a perspective view of a semiconductor device unit 12Baccording to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 15B is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor device unit 12Balong the line XX in FIG. 15A.

In this embodiment, the same reference numbers are used for the sameelements as those shown in the preceding embodiments.

As shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, and FIGS. 15A and 15B, the IC cover 10Gis attached to the semiconductor device 11A, forming the semiconductordevice unit 12B.

In the present embodiment, the IC cover 10G has housings 22C that areopenings penetrating the IC cover 10G, the base portion 20B is like apier, and the projection 21 is identical to the base portion 20B.

As shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, the housings 22C of the IC cover 10G arepositioned to face the semiconductor chips 14 of the semiconductordevice 11A, and in this state, the IC cover 10G is attached to thesemiconductor device 11A, as shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B. In this state,because the housings 22C are openings penetrating the IC cover 10G, anoperator can view by eye the semiconductor chips 14 of the semiconductordevice 11A through the housings 22C from the upper side, hence, itbecomes easy to precisely position the IC cover 10G and thesemiconductor device 11A.

By attaching the IC cover 10G to the semiconductor device 11A, thesemiconductor device unit 12B is obtained. Under this mounting state,the projection 21 of the IC cover 10G is in contact with the free area16 of the semiconductor device 11A.

In the present embodiment, the base portion 20B is integral with theprojection 21, but the projection 21 supports the base portion 20B, andreceives an external force applied to the base portion 20B.

In the present embodiment, because the housings 22 are openingspenetrating the IC cover 10G, in addition to the aforesaid improvementin positioning, it is also possible to reduce cost of materials andweight of the IC cover 10G.

Sixth Embodiment

FIG. 16A is a perspective view of an IC cover 10H according to a sixthembodiment.

FIG. 16B is a cross-sectional view of the IC cover 10H along the line XXin FIG. 16A.

FIG. 17A is a perspective view of a semiconductor device unit 12Caccording to the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 17B is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor device unit 12Calong the line XX in FIG. 17A.

In this embodiment, the same reference numbers are used for the sameelements as those shown in the preceding embodiments.

As shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B, and FIGS. 17A and 17B, the IC cover 10His attached to the semiconductor device 11A, forming the semiconductordevice unit 12C.

In the present embodiment, the IC cover 10H has ribs 43, which areconnected to the base portion 20C and form the top of the housings 22D.

The upper surface of the base portion 20D including the ribs 43 is aflat plane. As shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B, the housings 22D of the ICcover 10H are positioned to face the semiconductor chips 14 of thesemiconductor device 11A, and in this state, the IC cover 10G isattached to the semiconductor device 11A, as shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B.

In this state, because of the rib-structure of the IC cover 10H, the ICcover 10H is partially opened, therefore an operator can view by eye thesemiconductor chips 14 of the semiconductor device 11A through theopenings from the upper side; hence, it becomes easy to preciselyposition the IC cover 10H and the semiconductor device 11A.

By attaching the IC cover 10H to the semiconductor device 11A, thesemiconductor device unit 12C is obtained. Under this mounting state,the projection 21 of the IC cover 10H is in contact with the free area16 of the semiconductor device 11A; therefore, the base portion 20C issupported by the projection 21 above the interposer 13.

In addition, in the present embodiment, because ribs 43 are formed as aportion of the housings 22D, the mechanical strength of the IC cover 10His high compared to the IC cover 10G in the preceding embodiment.Therefore, the IC cover 10H is able to more effectively prevent damageto the semiconductor device 11A when an external force is imposed on thesemiconductor device 11A. Further, it is also possible to reduce cost ofmaterials and weight of the IC cover 10H compared with the IC covers 10Athrough 10G.

Seventh Embodiment

In this embodiment, a mechanism for positioning an IC cover relative toa semiconductor device is explained.

In the present embodiment, a first positioning member is formed on thesemiconductor device, and a second positioning member is formed on theIC cover; the semiconductor device and the IC cover are set in positionwhen the first positioning member and the second positioning member areengaged with each other.

In this embodiment, the same reference numbers are used for the sameelements as those in the preceding embodiments.

FIG. 18A is a perspective view of an IC cover 10E and a semiconductordevice 11E, as a first example according to a seventh embodiment. The ICcover 10E and the semiconductor device 11E form a semiconductor deviceunit 12D.

In FIG. 18A, a selected corner of the semiconductor device 11E is cutaway, forming a positioning side 26 in the semiconductor device 11E, asthe first positioning member. Meanwhile, a positioning column 25 isformed on the IC cover 10E, as the second positioning member. That is,the positioning side 26 is obtained by cutting a selected corner of theinterposer 13, and the positioning column 25 is obtained by extendingdownward a selected corner of the IC cover 10E.

The positioning side 26 and the positioning column 25 are formed incorresponding positions. Thus, by making positions of the positioningside 26 and the positioning column 25 in agreement with each other, theIC cover 10E can be precisely positioned relative to the semiconductordevice 11E, and the IC cover 10E can be attached to the semiconductordevice 11E under this positioning condition. Hence, positioning of theIC cover 10E can be conducted easily and reliably.

FIG. 18B is a perspective view of an IC cover 10F and a semiconductordevice 11F, as a second example according to the seventh embodiment. TheIC cover 10F and the semiconductor device 11F form a semiconductordevice unit 12E.

In FIG. 18B, a positioning mark 28 is formed at a selected corner of thesemiconductor device 11E as the first positioning member, and apositioning mark 27 is formed on the IC cover 10F as the secondpositioning member.

The positioning mark 28 is on the surface of interposer 13 and is formedfrom a metal film; the positioning mark 27 is an opening penetrating thebase portion 20A of the IC cover 10F.

The positioning mark 28 and the positioning mark 27 are formed incorresponding positions. Thus, by making positions of the positioningmark 28 and the positioning mark 27 in agreement with each other, the ICcover 10F can be precisely positioned relative to the semiconductordevice 11F, and the IC cover 10F can be attached to the semiconductordevice 11F under this positioning condition. Hence, positioning of theIC cover 10F can be conducted easily and reliably.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of an IC cover 10I and a semiconductordevice 11G, as a third example according to the seventh embodiment. TheIC cover 10I and the semiconductor device 11G form a semiconductordevice unit 12F.

In FIG. 19, one or more positioning projections 30 are formed on thesemiconductor device 11G as the first positioning member; and one ormore positioning holes 29 are formed on the IC cover 10I as the secondpositioning member.

The positioning projections 30 are formed on the surface of theinterposer 13. The positioning projections 30 can be obtained by formingcolumn-like members on the interposer 13, or they can be formedintegrally with the interposer 13 when fabricating the interposer 13.

The positioning holes 29 are formed at specified positions of the baseportion 20A of the IC cover 10G. The positioning holes 29 can be formedintegrally with the IC cover 10I when fabricating the IC cover 10I.

The positioning projections 30 and the positioning holes 29 are formedin corresponding positions. Thus, by making positions of the positioningprojections 30 and the positioning holes 29 in agreement with eachother, the IC cover 10I can be precisely positioned relative to thesemiconductor device 11G, and the IC cover 10I can be attached to thesemiconductor device 11G under this positioning condition. Hence,positioning of the IC cover 10I can be conducted easily and reliably.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of an IC cover 10I and a semiconductordevice 11G, as a fourth example according to the seventh embodiment. TheIC cover 10I and the semiconductor device 11G form a semiconductordevice unit 12G.

The semiconductor device unit 12G shown in FIG. 20 has the same IC cover10I and the semiconductor device 11G as the semiconductor device unit12F in FIG. 19, but in the semiconductor device unit 12G, eachpositioning projection 30 on the semiconductor device 11G has a conichead 31.

Because of the presence of the conic head 31, which has an inclinedsurface, when attaching the IC cover 10I to the semiconductor device11G, the conic head 31 guides the positioning projection 30 to beinserted into the corresponding positioning hole 29, hence, it becomeseasy to insert the positioning projection 30 into the positioning hole29.

FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view of an IC cover 10J and thesemiconductor device 11A, as a fifth example according to the seventhembodiment. The IC cover 10J and the semiconductor device 11A form asemiconductor device unit 12H.

In FIG. 21, the peripheral part 32 of the semiconductor device 11A isused as the first positioning member, and an engagement wall 33 isformed on the IC cover 10J as the second positioning member.

The engagement wall 33 is obtained by extending downward the peripheralpart of the base portion 20A of the IC cover 10J, and the position ofthe top of the engagement wall 33 is lower than the position of theprojection 21, which is in contact with the free area 16 after beingmounted.

The inner side of the engagement wall 33 is formed to have a shape incorrespondence to the shape of the outer side of the circumference ofthe interposer 13. The engagement wall 33 may be formed integrally withthe IC cover 10J when fabricating the IC cover 10J.

Because the shape of the inner side of the engagement wall 33 is incorrespondence to the shape of the outer side of the circumference ofthe interposer 13, when the engagement wall 33 is mated with theperipheral part 32 of the interposer 13, the IC cover 10J can beprecisely positioned relative to the semiconductor device 11A, and theIC cover 10J can be attached to the semiconductor device 11A under thispositioning condition. Hence, positioning of the IC cover 10J can beconducted easily and reliably.

In the semiconductor device unit 12H, because the peripheral part 32 ofthe interposer 13 of the semiconductor device 11A is used as the firstpositioning member, it is not necessary to provide additional parts forpositioning.

FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view of the IC cover 10J and thesemiconductor device 11A, as a sixth example according to the seventhembodiment. The IC cover 10J and the semiconductor device 11A form asemiconductor device unit 12I.

The semiconductor device unit 12I shown in FIG. 22 has the same IC cover10J and the semiconductor device 11A as the semiconductor device unit12H in FIG. 21, but in the semiconductor device unit 12I, the engagementwall 33 has an inclined surface 34 on the inner side thereof.

Because of the presence of the inclined surface 34, when attaching theIC cover 10J to the semiconductor device 11A, the inclined surface 34guides the engagement wall 33 to mate with the peripheral part 32 of theinterposer 13, hence, it becomes easy to engage the IC cover 10J withthe interposer 13.

Although it is not mentioned in the above descriptions, and notillustrated in FIG. 18A through FIG. 22, the suction hole 38 as shown inFIG. 2, through which the suction head 40 takes suction on the IC cover10E, 10F, 10I, and 10J to be together with the semiconductor device 11A,11E, 11F, and 11G during the transportation step S3 or S5 in FIG. 1, maybe appropriately formed near the center of the IC cover 10E, 10F, 10I,and 10J.

FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view of an IC cover 10K and thesemiconductor device 11A, as a seventh example according to the seventhembodiment. The IC cover 10K and the semiconductor device 11A form asemiconductor device unit 12J.

In FIG. 23, the interposer 13 of the semiconductor device 11A,specifically, the bottom surface of the interposer 13 is used as thefirst positioning member, and an engagement wall 33 is formed on the ICcover 10K as the second positioning member. In this example, on theinner side of the engagement wall 33, a latching member 35 is formed tobe projecting toward the inner side.

When the IC cover 10K is attached to the semiconductor device 11A, thelatching member 35 latches the interposer 13 at the peripheral part ofthe bottom surface of the interposer 13, thereby the IC cover 10K isengaged with the semiconductor device 11A. In other words, with the ICcover 10K being attached to the semiconductor device 11A, the interposer13 is held caught by the latching member 35 and the projections 21. Dueto this configuration, once the IC cover 10K is attached to thesemiconductor device 11A, it is possible to prevent disengagement of theIC cover 10K from the semiconductor device 11A, therefore effectivelyprotecting the semiconductor device 11A.

The latching member 35 may be formed integrally with the IC cover 10Kwhen fabricating the IC cover 10K. Because the cross section of thelatching member 35 possesses a triangular shape (the upper surface andthe lower surface are inclined), the IC cover 10K can be easily attachedto or detached from the semiconductor device 11A.

Eighth Embodiment

In the preceding embodiments, an IC cover is formed beforehand to have aspace for accommodating a semiconductor device. However, if numbers andtypes of semiconductor chips and electric parts mounted on an interposerof the semiconductor device increase, it becomes cumbersome to formspaces of appropriate sizes and shapes to accommodate all the items.

In this embodiment, instead of fabricating an IC cover in advance, anelastic sheet, or a thermoplastic resin, or a conductive material isused as the IC cover, and thereby avoiding trouble in formingappropriate spaces.

FIG. 24A is a cross-sectional view of an IC cover 10L, which is anelastic body, and the semiconductor device 11A according to an eighthembodiment.

FIG. 24B is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor device unit 12Kincluding the IC cover 10L and the semiconductor device 11A.

In this embodiment, the same reference numbers are used for the sameelements as those mentioned in the preceding embodiments.

As shown in FIGS. 24A and 24B, in correspondence to the shape of theinterposer 13, the IC cover 10L is shaped to be a rectangular solid.Certainly, the shape and size of the IC cover 10L can be determined incorrespondence to the shape and size of the interposer 13. For example,the IC cover 10L may be formed from a nitrile rubber, or siliconerubber, or other rubbers. When selecting the materials, it is preferableto select materials whose Shore hardness Type A is greater than 50.

To attach the IC cover 10L to the semiconductor device 11A, it issufficient to just place the IC cover 10L directly on the top surface ofthe semiconductor device 11A. In this operation, an adhesive agent maybe applied on the bottom surface 36 of the IC cover 10L to make the ICcover 10L adhere to the interposer 13.

Because the IC cover 10L is formed from an elastic material, heightunevenness of the semiconductor chips 14 and not-illustrated electricparts on the interposer 13 is absorbed by elastic deformation of the ICcover 10L, and therefore, it is not necessary to form spaces foraccommodating the semiconductor chips 14 and electric parts as is donein the previous embodiments.

With the IC cover 10L being mounted on the semiconductor device 11A,even when a large external force is imposed on the semiconductor deviceunit 12K, the external force is absorbed by the elastic deformation ofthe IC cover 10L. Consequently, due to the elastic IC cover 10Laccording to the present embodiment, the semiconductor device 11A can beeffectively protected.

The elastic IC cover 10L can be repeatedly used until the elastic ICcover 10L degrades in elasticity and cannot deform sufficiently largecompared to the height of the electric parts.

FIG. 25A is a cross-sectional view of an IC cover 10M formed from athermoplastic resin and the semiconductor device 11A according to theeighth embodiment.

FIG. 25B is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor device unit 12Lincluding the IC cover 10M and the semiconductor device 11A.

As shown in FIGS. 25A and 25B, in correspondence to the shape of theinterposer 13, the IC cover 10M is shaped to be a rectangular solid.Certainly, the shape and size of the IC cover 10M can be determined incorrespondence to the shape and size of the interposer 13.

For example, the IC cover 10M may be formed from PolyVinyl Chloride(PVC). PVC turns soft at a temperature of 80 C degrees to 100 C degrees.

To attach the IC cover 10M to the semiconductor device 11A, it issufficient to just place the IC cover 10M directly on the top surface ofthe semiconductor device 11A. During this operation, the IC cover 10Mcan be heated to a temperature of 80 C degrees to 100 C degrees tosoften the IC cover 10M, making the IC cover 10M adhesive. Hence, the ICcover 10L adheres to the interposer 13. In this way, the semiconductordevice unit 12L shown in FIG. 25B is obtained.

Because the IC cover 10M is formed from a thermoplastic resin, heightunevenness of the semiconductor chips 14 and not-illustrated electricparts on the interposer 13 is absorbed by thermal deformation of the ICcover 10M, and therefore, it is not necessary to form spaces foraccommodating the semiconductor chips 14 and electric parts as is donein the previous embodiments. That is, even if numbers and types ofsemiconductor chips and electric parts mounted on the interposer of thesemiconductor device increase, because of usage of a thermoplastic resinas the IC cover 10M, the space for accommodating the above items issubstantially formed due to the thermal deformation of the IC cover 10M.

Because the IC cover 10M has an adhesive property, and adheres to thesemiconductor device 11A once the IC cover 10M is attached to thesemiconductor device 11A, the IC cover 10M can hardly break away fromthe semiconductor device 11A. When it is desired to remove the IC cover10M from the semiconductor device 11A, it is sufficient to just heat theIC cover 10M again to soften the IC cover 10M. Due to the heating, theadhesive strength decreases, and the IC cover 10M can be easily removedfrom the semiconductor device 11A.

The elastic IC cover 10M can also be repeatedly used until the IC cover10M degrades in plasticity and cannot deform sufficiently large comparedto the height of the electric parts.

FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view of an IC cover 10N and thesemiconductor device 11A according to the eighth embodiment. In thisexample, at least the surface of the IC cover 10N is made to beconductive so as to prevent generation of static electricity in thesemiconductor device 11A.

As shown in FIG. 26, in the IC cover 10N, at least surfaces of a baseportion 20F and projections 21 are made to be conductive.

In order to make the surface of the base portion 20F and the surface ofthe projections 21 conductive, a conductive material such aspoly-carbonate may be coated on the surface of the IC cover 10N;alternatively, the IC cover 10N can be made from poly-carbonate.

Due to this configuration, at least the surfaces of the base portion 20Fand the projections 21 in the IC cover 10N are conductive, thereby, whenattaching the IC cover 10N to the semiconductor device 11A, even thoughstatic electricity is generated between the IC cover 10N and thesemiconductor device 11A, the IC cover 10N can remove the static charge.Hence, it is possible to prevent static electricity damage to thesemiconductor chips 14 on the semiconductor device 11A and circuits onthe interposer 13.

Further, the IC cover 10N may be connected to a ground line formed onthe interposer 13. Due to this, the IC cover 10N functions as ashielding case, and in a test of the semiconductor device 11A, the ICcover 10N prevents influence on the semiconductor chips 14 from externalstray electromagnetic waves.

While the invention is described above with reference to specificembodiments chosen for purpose of illustration, it should be apparentthat the invention is not limited to these embodiments, but numerousmodifications could be made thereto by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the basic concept and scope of the invention.

Summarizing the effect of the present invention, because a protectioncover for a semiconductor device is provided, the semiconductor deviceis protected and the top surface of the semiconductor device can be madeflat, therefore having a uniform height distribution. This improvesreliability of a performance test of the semiconductor device.

Further, because of presence of the protection cover, it is possible toprevent damage to the semiconductor device during transportation, orpackaging for shipment.

This patent application is based on Japanese Priority Patent ApplicationNo. 2003-348796 filed on Oct. 7, 2003, the entire contents of which arehereby incorporated by reference.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for protecting a semiconductor device,comprising the step of: attaching a protection member detachably to thesemiconductor device that includes one or more elements.
 2. A method forprotecting a semiconductor device that is subjected to a plurality oftreatments after fabrication but before shipment, comprising the stepof: performing the treatments with a protection member being attached tothe semiconductor device.
 3. The method as claimed in claim 2, whereinthe treatments include transportation of the semiconductor device withthe semiconductor device being held by a suction chuck through a suctionhole formed on the protection member.
 4. A semiconductor devicepackaging structure for packaging a semiconductor device, comprising: atray including a first semi-tray and a second semi-tray, thesemiconductor device being attached to and packaged in the tray; and asemiconductor device protection cover arranged between the firstsemi-tray and a surface of the semiconductor device, wherein thesemiconductor device protection cover comprises: a base portion; a firstsurface, said first surface being flat; and a second surface having aprojecting portion to be brought into contact with a substrate of thesemiconductor device and a depressed portion not to be brought intocontact with parts mounted in the semiconductor device.
 5. Asemiconductor device package structure for packaging a semiconductordevice, comprising: an embossed tape on which the semiconductor deviceis pasted; and a semiconductor device protection cover arranged on asurface of the semiconductor device, wherein the semiconductor deviceprotection cover comprises: a base portion; a first surface, said firstsurface being flat; and a second surface having a projecting portion tobe brought into contact with a substrate of the semiconductor device anda depressed portion not to be brought into contact with parts mounted inthe semiconductor device.